EU’s green renovation wave lacks plan to deal with asbestos

By 2030, around 35 million buildings across the EU will be either renovated or demolished under the Green Deal — but the EU Commission has yet to propose a directive on screening and registering asbestos in European buildings.

The EU adopted new rules in October 2023 to reduce workers’ exposure to this harmful substance, but there is still a lack of information on the extent of asbestos contamination in buildings and infrastructure across the EU-27 bloc.

Workers in construction, fire-fighting, industry, education and offices are at “significant risk” of exposure to asbestos in buildings, unions warned in a letter sent to commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday (29 January).

“The absence of mandatory screening and registration exacerbates this issue, leaving workers unknowingly exposed to this hazardous substance,” reads the letter, signed by five unions, including the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), IndustriAll and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU).

Asbestos is in fact the number one cause of workplace fatalities in the EU, with around 90,000 people dying each year from asbestos-related cancers.

With the upcoming wave of building renovations under the EU’s Green Deal plans, the four to seven million workers exposed to the substance are expected to increase by four percent over the next decade, says the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).

Moreover, the directive would not only have to deal with the screening of buildings, the unions point out, but include key elements such as worker training, the safe disposal of asbestos waste, and the decontamination of clothing and equipment.